Denture anchor



Dec. 21, 1943. G. CODY DENTURE ANCHOR Filed Jan. 29, 1942 Y I l u 4 I Il 1 I INVENTOR. LOU/J GLEN/V CODY Patented Dec. 21, 1943 UNlTED' STATESPATENT ()FFICE DENTURE ANCHOR Louis Glenn Cody, Denver, Colo.

Application January 29, 1942, Serial No. 428,681

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in means for holding partialdentures in place.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, a bridge, plate, orpartial denture, including one or more false teeth, is commonlyinstalled in the mouth by dentists to take the place of missing teethwhen less than a complete denture or set of false teeth is required.Ordinarily, such partial dentures are fastened to natural teeth eitherpermanently or removably. There is a serious objection to such ananchorage, however, because some of the forces involved in biting orchewing on the partial denture are usually transmitted to the naturaltooth or teeth that provide the anchorage. These forces and stressestend to loosen the natural tooth or teeth thus acted upon, as is wellunderstood by the dental profession. Obviously, this is undesirable.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to providemeans whereby such a partial denture may be removably, yet dependably,positioned in the mouth and fastened to one or more natural teeth in away that will not transmit damaging forces or stresses to such naturalteeth.

Another object is to provide such means in convenient form formanufacture, distribution, and use by the dental profession.

A further object is to provide such means that are entirely dependableand satisfactory from the viewpoint of the person in whose mouth it isinstalled.

Other objects and advantages reside in details of design and components,which will become manifest as this disclosure progresses.

In order to disclose an operative reduction to practice of the presentinventive concept, the accompanying drawing will be described in someparticularity. The drawing is more or less diagrammatic and is drawn toa greatly exaggerated scale for purposes of clearly setting forth theadvanced principles that comprise the invention.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view partially in section and drawn to an enlargedscale, indicating a device that embodies the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof as indicated by arrow 2 of Figure1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal central section as indicated by line 3--3 ofFigure l; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 3.

Reference character l5 denotes a socket-forming downwardly taperedsleeve that is to be cast into a gold inlay, which in turn is mounted inthe natural tooth that is to provide anchorage for the partial denture.A retention sleeve I6 is made of a size and shape to slide into thesocketiorming sleeve l5 in removable wedge-like engagement therewith.

The socket-forming sleeve i5 is vertically open along its side adjacentwhich opening are guides I5a which cooperate with the retention sleeveHi to hold the latter in place. If the retention sleeve it tends to haveor to acquire a loose fit in the socket from wear and usage, then theguidecontacting parts lid of sleeve l6 can be bent to grip the guideslfia more securely, to provide a clasp effect.

Within the retention sleeve it and partly extending therefrom is a slideor breaker bar H, which is siidable up and down therein and withreference thereto within limits provided by the folded-over closures l8and 59.

The slidable breaker bar l l preferably is made of one piece folded uponitself to provide resilient wings 20 and 2! each of which is notched toform locking tongues 22 and 23 respectively. The outer edges of thewings 2E] and 2E converge downwardly and terminate in tips 2 5 and 25respectively.

A tailpiece 26 terminates in a locking slide 2'! that is positioned atsubstantially right angles to said tailpiece and is adapted by its sizeand shape to fit snugly over looking wings 26 and 22'- and be lockedthereon by tongues 22 and 23.

The denture ordinarily comprising one or more false teeth is mountedupon the universal tailpiece 26, which tailpiece is of a size and shapeto be cut and fitted to the job at hand by the dentist. Its cross-likeshape provides for both left or right side dentures.

The fastening of the tailpiece 26 by means of its integral locking slide2? to the locking Wings 23 and 22 is semi-permanent and is intended forconvenient assembly by the dentist. It is entirely possible for thedentist in the course of his professional work to remove the tail iece25 and its locking slide 2'! from the wings 25 and 2 I when the occasionarises. In this way, the assembly readily can be serviced by the dentistwithout laboratory expense.

The various components herein illustrated and described are intended tobe made of stainless sheet metal such as alloy steel or the like, thatpossesses the desirable properties of strength, malleability, andresistance to corrosion.

It is manifest that the various components that comprise these advancedmeans for holding a partial denture in place, are highly importantarticles of manufacture, which can be produced economically in quantityand distributed to the dental profession. Dentists using thesecomponents readily can adapt them to the job at hand and assemble theminto their final relationship as herein illustrated and described. Suchmeans are highly advantageous to the dental practitioner and tothepatient in whose mouth they are used. 7

In use, the socket-forming sleeve I is cast into a gold inlay or thelike, which in turn is mounted in the natural tooth of the patient. Thedenture is prepared and mounted on the tailpiece 26 as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, which in turn is lockedsemi-permanently onto the slide or breaker bar I1, by means of lockingtongues 22 and 23. This slide or breaker bar I! is slidably enclosedwithin the retention sleeve l6,

after which the denture assembly is ready to be mounted in the mouth ofthe patient.

The retention sleeve I6 is finally slipped into the socket-formingsleeve IS in the natural tooth, thus providing a removable yetdependable anchorage for the denture to the natural tooth. It is to beunderstood that this same mounting can be provided at both ends of thedenture if desired, by duplicating the parts herein illustrated anddescribed. 7

The denture is designed to bear upon the natural gum of the wearer, andas the forces of biting or chewing are borne by the denture it can slideup and down within limits, thus preventing the transmission of anydetrimental forces to the natural tooth or teeth to which the assemblyis fastened.

The relationship of the retaining sleeve l6 to the socket I5 is awedge-like engagement which securely holds thev denture and yet providesfor complete removal of the entire denture assembly at will.

The principle involved in this invention is known as broken stress,because detrimental forces and stresses are not transmitted to thenatural teeth and yet a definite occlusal stop is provided, withcontrolled movement in all directions.

The gum of the wearer provides part of the occlusal stop, but after thegum has compressed the amount of the movement of the slide N, then thenatural tooth provides some of the stop, but since the stress is brokenwithin the vertical axis of the natural tooth, there will be no leverarm of force acting on said tooth.

Because of the features herein set forth, no great amount of precisionof installation is required so the present denture anchor is unusuallyeasy to install, and satisfactory to wear.

,What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a socket-formingsleeve adapted by its size and shape to be attached to a natural tooth,a retention element of corresponding size and shape fitted for limitedvertical movement in said socket-forming sleeve in wedge-like engagementtherewith, a resilient breaker slide retained in said retention elementfor limited universal movement relative thereto and having a portionprojecting horizontally therefrom, and a denturesupporting tailpieceattached to the projecting portion of said breaker slide for limitedindependent vertical movement, whereby forces exerted vertically againstthe tailpiece in a users mouth cannot transmit leverage against thetooth on which said sleeveis mounted. V a

2. A device of the character described, comprising a taperedsocket-forming sleeve adapted by its size and shape to be attached to anatural tooth, a retention element of corresponding size and shapefitted for limited vertical movement in said socket-forming sleeve inwedge-like engagement therewith, a resilient breaker slide retained insaid retention element for limited universal movement relative theretoand having a portion I projecting horizontally therefrom, and adenturesupporting tailpiece attached to the projecting portion of saidbreaker slide for limited independent vertical movement, whereby forcesexerted vertically against the tailpiece in a users mouth cannottransmit leverage against the tooth on which said sleeve is mounted.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a socket-formingsleeve adapted by its size and shape to be attached to a natural tooth,a retention element of corresponding size and shape fitted for limitedvertical movement in said socket-forming sleeve in wedgelike engagementtherewith, a resilient breaker slide retained in said retention elementfor limited universal movement relative thereto and having a portionprojecting horizontally therefrom, a denture-supporting tailpieceattached to the projecting portion of said breaker slide for limitedindependent vertical movement, and means on said projecting portion forlocking said tailpiece thereon whereby forces exerted vertically againstthe tailpiece in a users mouth cannot transmit leverage against thetooth on which said sleeve is mounted.

l. A device of the character described, comprising a socket-formingsleeve adapted by its size and shape to be attached to a natural tooth,a retention element of corresponding size and shape fitted for limitedvertical movement in said socket-forming sleeve in wedge-like engagementtherewith, a resilient breaker slide retained in said retention elementfor limited universal movement relative thereto and having a portionprojecting horizontally therefrom, means for retaining said slide insaid element, and a denturesupporting tailpiece attached to theprojecting portion of said breaker slide for limited independentvertical movement, whereby forces exerted vertically against thetailpiece in a users mouth cannot transmit leverage against the tooth onwhich said sleeve is mounted. 5. A device of the character described,comprising a socket-forming sleeve adapted by its size and shape to beattached to a natural tooth, a retention element of corresponding sizeand shape fitted for limited vertical movement in said socket-formingsleeve in wedge-like engagement therewith, a resilient breaker slideretained in said retention element for limited universal movementrelative thereto and having a portion projecting therefrom andterminating in looking wings, and a denture-supporting tailpieceattached to the projecting portion of said breaker slide by means ofsaid wings, whereby forces exerted vertically against the tailpiece in ausers mouth cannot transmit leverage against the tooth on which saidsleeve is mounted.

6. As an article of manufacture, a dental device of the characterdescribed, comprising an open-side socket-forming sleeve adapted by itssize and shape to be fixed on a natural tooth, a resilient breaker slideconstructed and arranged to fit in said sleeve for limited universalmovement relative thereto and having a portion projecting horizontallytherefrom, means for limiting the universal movement of said breakerslide,

and a denture tailpiece having means for its attachment to theprojecting portion of said breaker slide permitting limited independentmovement whereby forces exerted vertically against the tailpiece in ausers mouth cannot transmit leverage against the tooth on which saidsleeve is mounted.

7. As an article of manufacture, a dental device of the characterdescribed, comprising an open-side socket-forming sleeve adapted by itssize and shape to be fixed on a natural tooth and having guides adjacentand parallel to the opening, a resilient retention element of a size andshape to fit slidably in the socket in wedge-like engagement therewithand having guide-contacting portions, a breaker slide constructed andarranged to fit in said retention element for limited universal movementrelative thereto and having a portion projecting horizontally therefrom,and a denture tailpiece having means for its attachment to theprojecting portion of said breaker slide permitting limited independentmovement, whereby forces exerted vertically against the tailpiece in ausers mouth cannot transmit leverage against the tooth on which saidsleeve is mounted.

LOUIS GLENN CODY.

